Each of the four seasons bring their own unique activities to do and weather for one to get acclimated with so it's no surprise that your mood can change when moving from one season to the next. Most of us are outdoors and enjoying the warm and inviting summer days during summertime but as fall creeps in and the temperatures start to drop we find ourselves moving back indoors. Just as a hermit crab retracts back into it's shell we too retreat back into our homes as fall comes around and this retreat can cause negative changes in your mood. It's important to keep a watchful eye on your moods during this transition so as to not slip into a depression, an affliction that can certainly negatively impact your day to day well being.

What to watch out for and what to do

There are several common signs of depression many of which you may have heard of before but it's important to be aware of these signs in order to keep tabs on your moods and the possibility of looming depression. The reason why many people are prone to depression during the fall and winter months is because of the weather changes, lack of sunlight, and alterations to one's lifestyle due to these things. When a person regularly enters a depressive phase during these months it is referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorder (commonly referred to as SAD).

So, what should you look out for this fall? What kinds of changes are a tell tale sign of depression? Some symptoms that are extremely common when one is in a depressive phase are a lack of energy, increased appetite and over eating (especially unhealthy foods), a lack of pleasure derived from activities that usually produce pleasure, over sleeping, feeling numb or "dead inside", changes in cognition such as a lack of focus, and more. If you are experiencing these symptoms do not immediately fret and scour the web for possible disorders as this will only lead to more duress and incorrect self diagnoses.

Your best bet is seeking out a professional meaning a general practitioner or licensed psychiatrist. Schedule an appointment and express to them exactly what you are feeling. Depression is a serious illness and can take a toll on your quality of life. You absolutely need outside help if you are experiencing a clinical form of this illness.

It's important to note that just because you are experiencing depression and SAD it doesn't mean that you must take medication. Medication can do wonders for you if you find the right anti-depressant but for some it does very little or only offers unpleasant side effects. Your doctor may suggest that you instead see a therapist and undergo cognitive behavioral therapy and try an exercise program before resorting to medications.

There is also another alternative solution for SAD that even your doctor might approve of known as SAD lights. These lights aim to compensate for the lack of sunlight one gets during the fall and winter months. You sit under the light for a few minutes every day and gradually, if all goes well, you will begin to feel a lift in your moods.

The fight is worth it!

Depression is something that can be treated and Seasonal Affective Disorder is a well known occurrence by those in the know. You can lessen your depression this fall if it becomes a problem and there are tools at your disposal. Lastly, you aren't alone in this fight. Millions of other people deal with SAD and many of them successfully treat it every single year. Reach out to others by visiting forums designed for people with depression to converse and build a support group to reach out to comprised of your friends and family.

It's a well known fact that exercise, specifically cardio, is fantastic for one's overall health. We've talked about this here at Healthopedia and many others have talked about this. It's a topic that has been covered ad nauseam and will continue to be covered until the end of time. Drama aside, while most folks know the benefits of regular cardio (walks, jogs, sports, etc.) they are turned off by it due to the barrier of entry, something that only increases as one avoids exercise more and more.

Baby Steps

If you want to get into shape and increase your level of fitness via cardio exercise you don't have to jump right into jogging. Many times this will be much too difficult. There's a popular program known as Couch to 5K that runs on this principle. Essentially, you start out walking and you gradually work your way up to jogging 3.1 miles. You don't hop right into it and attempt to jog 3.1 miles from the start. That just won't end well.

The point is that you want to take it really easy when attempting to "get into the game" that is cardio. If you've been out of the game for quite awhile your body is going to repel any attempt at cardio, walking included. It's possible that even a simple walk around the block will leave you sore the next day if you are extremely out of shape. But that's okay! If you take things slow and easy all the while progressing it will get much better and much easier.

You could start out by just walking around your neighborhood with no incline twice a week. Do this for a few weeks and your endurance will become stronger. After you feel that this is a breeze kick up the length walked or walk in an area that provides an incline if you are feeling brave. Do this for a few weeks and eventually work your way up to a light jog. You see, it's all about progress while taking into account your current endurance and comfort level. The time it takes to advance in cardio difficulty will change from person to person and depends on various variables.

Furthermore, not everyone will be interested in becoming a regular jogger. Walking is just fine for millions of people everyday so why shouldn't it work for someone else looking to stay healthy? It isn't as good for you as jogging is but it is still a very healthy activity and will certainly kick anyone into decent shape with enough time and persistence. The choice is yours and anyway you take it it's good for you.

The modern world is fast paced, excruciatingly so at times. The weight can be too much to bare at times. So what do people do when they need their minds to do more? Most Americans seek out something that can give them a little extra mental boost or edge. Something that provides mental energy is almost as necessary as water these days for some. There are quite a few options out there but some provide to be quite unhealthy at times.

Healthy through and through

The healthiest way to garner more energy for the mind (as well as the body) is physical exercise. Regular exercise is not just good for one's physical appearance. Exercise on a consistent basis gets blood flowing in the brain, boosts neurotransmitters such as dopamine, and even leads to the growth of new brain cells through BDNF proliferation. It's an all around amazing tool and arguably the best tool at anyone's arsenal.

The only real downside of physical exertion is the exertion itself. Exercise requires a lot of effort especially when done on a consistent basis. Gaining the momentum to start an exercise regime can be a momentous task to say the least. This wall of sorts is even present when someone is fully aware of the overwhelming amount of benefits for the body and mind.

This is a tried and true method of boosting your brain and there's a reason why people who exercise regularly feel so good. The best part about it is that you will feel a difference in your mind, specifically the way you think about things, immediately after you are done exerting yourself. Yes, it's not easy, in fact it can be quite hard, but it does work very well.

Dreaded Drugs

So you've got exercise on one side of the spectrum, the side that exemplifies health, and they've you've got things on the other side of the spectrum, the side that is anything but healthy. Unfortunately, many people resort to unhealthy measures to obtain more energy for their minds because they want it extremely bad and it's usually a lot easier than the healthy ways. The unhealthy solution we are talking about here are drugs, more specifically amphetamines such as Adderall.

Does Adderall and other stimulant drugs boost your brain to new heights and allow you to get incredible amounts of work done without batting an eye? Oh yes it does! There's a reason why hundreds of thousands of people go to their doctors complaining about not being able to concentrate and focus in order to obtain a prescription for the so called wonder drug that is Adderall.

While stimulant drugs may give you amazing mental energy to get work done and any other cognitive related task at first they will always let you down. These drugs can ruin your health, are highly addictive, will make mental fatigue worse in the long term, and are literally toxic to the brain.

These drugs do have legitimate uses, that being ADD and narcolepsy, but most who use these drugs shouldn't be using them. Essentially their motives are entirely off base and related to problems that are quite common to any human being. You just don't want to use drugs like Adderall if your only reason for doing so is to get a little more stamina for you mind.

The middle ground

There are drugs which are bad and there's exercise which is entirely good but requires a whole lot of effort. So where's the middle ground? What can a person use that doesn't want to use these two options? The answer lies in legal supplements and beverages.

Tea and coffee are probably the two most popular ways people get more mental energy. Millions of people drink these two hot beverages every single day. The reason so many people use tea and coffee is because they absolutely do work for keeping one awake and more alert even when used on a daily basis. The last topic we discussed here was about the pro's and con's of coffee so you may want to check that out.

Basically, you gain a tolerance to coffee's effects and with this comes a reduction in some of the benefits. You won't lose all of the benefits, namely those related to wakefulness and focus, but you will lose some. As you may already know tea offers a different experience than coffee but what you may not know is that it has it's own unique mental benefits especially in the way it energizes your mind.

Both tea and coffee could be considered cognitive enhancing agents because of what they do to your brain (all good things really) and may even be referred to as nootropics. They are also good for your health overall as they both provide long term health benefits for your mind and body.

There are other alternatives that lie somewhere in the middle which include various supplements such as B-vitamins but you should start with coffee and tea before looking into any other kinds of supplements. Tea especially offers many opportunities as there are tons of different kinds of tea (green tea, black tea, blends, oolong tea).

When looking for something to kick your mind up into a higher gear be sensible above all else. Never resort to toxic drugs that so many are falling prey to and instead put forth effort into exercise if you can. And if you can't then try out coffee and the many kinds of tea as both of these drinks are rather harmless and even healthy.

Caffeine is America's favorite stimulant and for good reasons. It's relatively safe, effective for getting stuff done, and it doesn't carry scary side effects like bad boy stimulants such as Adderall do. Americans consume the substance in staggering amounts every single day via coffee drinking. In fact, over half of the population sips on a cup of this hot tasty beverage every day! But it isn't all good when it comes to the benefits of caffeine and the honeymoon phase surely doesn't last forever...

The Good

There is a reason why millions of Americans use caffeine to start the day every single day and it isn't just because they are addicted to the stuff (believe it or not caffeine addiction is a real disorder and you can find out why here). This mild stimulant produces results. It allows people to get up and go a lot more easily and motivates them to get their work done. What more could the average American ask for when it comes to the work day?

The way caffeine works, tickles the brain if you will, is fighting off an area of the brain that promotes sleep. It essentially makes its way into the brain in order to tell it that now is not the time to go to sleep whenever it is present. And this is why people reach for that cup of coffee when they're feeling a little sleepy or, under much more unhealthy conditions, when they want to forgo sleep entirely and work into the night.

It also boosts dopamine and serotonin levels among other things which basically means more good things are to come for the person that is ingesting caffeine. These brain chemicals are responsible for your mood and the way you look at things. Dopamine in particular is there to make you a little more chipper and to motivate you to go, go, and then go some more. Serotonin is there to make you feel more content and happier. So, when you take caffeine you are boosting these essential brain chemicals and the end result is a happier and more motivated version of you. It is actually proven that regular coffee drinking literally fights off depression.

diminishing returns

We know that caffeine provides a plethora of benefits that are very relevant to improving our every day lives. But are there any downsides to the popular stimulant? The answer is yes. All is not good when it comes to coffee and caffeine. The fact of the matter is that the benefits wane over time.

Caffeine is no narcotic like heroin or methamphetamine but it is a drug and like these deadly narcotic drugs it falls prey to a phenomenon known as tolerance. The basic idea is that if you are drinking coffee every day then you are reducing the positive effects it has to offer to you. At a certain point you will merely be drinking it to feel normal or back to baseline.

You will always be able to use it in order to ward off sleepiness but the other pro cognitive benefits will be reduced greatly if not nonexistent with regular use. Some people simply cannot start the day without some caffeine via Their favorite brand of coffee and so they are caught in a cycle of dependence. This isn't really bad but it also isn't optimal.

How exactly can you get the most out of caffeine and take advantage of its brain benefits? The answer is simple: don't drink coffee everyday. The best pattern of usage is that which is sporadic and only there when you truly need it. Another example of a pattern you could use to avoid tolerance would be to drink coffee one day followed by two days off. This is a very easy way to avoid dependency.

Always there when you need it

Caffeine is extremely abundant as you can get coffee nearly everywhere these days. Again, over half of the population drinks the beverage every single day so they also consume caffeine every single day. Capitalists certainly want to make money off of this caffeine craze, something that will most likely never end, right?

It's a perfect way to start the day and get you awake, and in this way it will never let you down. There are many health benefits to drinking coffee and the main psychoactive substance in it, caffeine, has its own set of pro cognitive benefits. If you use it wisely then you can take advantage of these benefits for the rest of your life. The choice is yours.

At it's core weight loss is an incredibly simple endeavor. If you want to lose weight then you need to burn more calories then you are consuming. If you are eating more calories then your body is using up daily then you are going to gain weight. If you consume less calories then your body is using then you will lose weight. The concept is simple, yes, but there are variables that you can throw into the mix that, while making things a little more complicated, will ultimately allow you to lose weight more easily.

Find out how many calories you are burning

The first step to being successful with your pursuit is to find out how many calories you are burning on a day to day basis. You can do this by using something called a TDEE calculator. TDEE is just a short way of saying total daily energy expenditure. A website such as this one will make everything very easy and completely hands off for you. A TDEE calculator will take into account how many calories you are eating on a daily basis, your current weight, age, sex, how much exercise you are getting and how vigorous this exercise is, and so on. Essentially, it has all of your bases covered regarding getting an accurate result.

The general rule of thumb as far as lowering your weight at a steady rate is to consume 500 calories less than your TDEE every day. If you do this then you can expect to lose roughly 1-2 pounds (keep in mind it could be more) per week. You might be thinking, "This is completely unacceptable and just not fast enough for my current weight goal for summer time!". The thing you need to realize is that steady weight loss is better than no weight loss at all. You don't want to start your journey and then stop after a few days or weeks. This method is better than a fad diet because it is tried, tested, and proven to work.

It's also important to realize that it is possible to speed things up with things such as exercise. In the next section we'll talk about using resistance training (commonly known as lifting weights) to your advantage when it comes to losing weight and getting healthy. Surely you already know that running and jogging are big players when it comes to options for exercise based weight loss but you would be surprised as to how resistance training can further help you along with your lifestyle change.

The benefits of resistance training (you don't need to get ripped)

Popular forms of cardio exercise such as running, jogging, or swimming are great because performing those exercises burns calories upon completion. If you run (or even walk) every single day then you are doing something very positive for your weight loss goals. The only problem with cardio exercises is that you only burn calories for that single session. This is where adding resistance training comes into play and allows you to burn calories around the clock.

When you perform a resistance exercise such as lifting dumbbells or doing squats you not only burn calories during the time you are presently exercising but your metabolism is also raised for a day or two after you have completed the exercises. This is something that is well known among fitness enthusiasts and is proven to happen.

Weight lifting is also good for raising your metabolism and in turn losing weight because packing on muscle turns up your metabolic rate. Each pound of muscle you gain could in turn burn up to an extra 50 calories a day. That may be an incredibly small portion of food but the thing to realize is that this calorie burning is occurring every single day and if you are refining your diet through calculating your TDEE then it will definitely have a positive effect over time.

Above all resistance training makes for a much more attractive body and will provide for a much more pleasant look as you are slimming down. You may find that your physique is rather awkward after losing a lot of weight without doing any kind of weight training. It's also extremely difficult to become ripped as you see in muscle magazines or with fitness models. This kind of physique requires years of hardcore training and many times anabolic steroids.

Electronic cigarettes are all the rage these days and on of the biggest selling points of these trending devices is the fact that they offer a healthy alternative to real cigarettes. It's well known that tobacco is incredibly bad for you. It leads to cancer and many other horrible diseases. It is also the leading cause of preventable deaths in the world. And even if cigarettes didn't cause cancer and disease they are still the antithesis of a healthy lifestyle. They litter your lungs with tar making it difficult to breathe in the life force that is oxygen.

This is where electronic cigarettes come into play (also known as e-cigs). With e-cigs you aren't inhaling tobacco or any of its byproducts but instead a liquid solution as vapor with only a few ingredients. Cigarettes contain thousands of chemicals while e-cigs contain a mere few ingredients. None of the ingredients are cancer causing as well. The real question is: are they really healthy? Is there anything inherently wrong with them?

The first thing to consider is the vapor that you are inhaling with each drag of an electronic cigarette. While you aren't inhaling smoke you are still inhaling something. What this means is that you are adding something for your lungs to absorb that isn't air. It makes sense that you may not breathe as easily if you are competing with the oxygen that we need to live. However, many users of electronic cigarettes report that they can breathe much easier using this device than they ever could when smoking tobacco. Some individuals report some wheezing or a loss in aerobic ability after using an e-cig but overall it doesn't seem to be a huge issue. The smart way to go about things would be to avoid using an e-cig before exercising or doing something that requires a lot of breathing (manual labor for instance).

Breathing in vapor via an electronic cigarette is worse for your breathing than breathing in pure oxygen (no cigarettes or e-cig vapor) but it is much better than breathing in tobacco smoke. The trade of is very much worth it if the testimonies of thousands of ex-smokers is anything to consider.

Next up is nicotine. Nicotine is the drug in cigarettes that gives users the desired effect and keeps them coming back for more. This substance is found in electronic cigarette liquid so users will still be addicted but not on the same level as conventional smokers. The reason for this is because tobacco contains different chemicals that actually makes nicotine more powerful, more rewarding, and more addictive. When you use an e-cig you are only consuming nicotine. You are not consuming anything else. For this reason a lot of people that use these popular devices report that the effects feel different than smoking a regular cigarette.

Nicotine is also the reason why e-cigs can be a much healthier alternative than cigarettes. Nicotine in and of itself has very few downsides. There are a few health risks associated with it but it is not cancer causing and it does not cause any type of disease. In fact, nicotine has a few benefits and it is even brain enhancing. Many people actually use nicotine for these effects. The reason why this substance tips the scale in favor of e-cigs is because of the fact that you can use liquid for e-cigs that use no nicotine at all. That's right, vapor without any drug at all. Furthermore, you can choose the level of nicotine you want to use for your e-cig so that you can effectively taper all the way down to a level of juice that has 0 nicotine. Tapering is a very effective method for getting off traditional narcotics and is something that is nearly impossible with conventional cigarettes because of their nature...but not with e-cigs. If an individual decides that they don't want to be addicted to this drug anymore then they can taper off of it by stepping down the nicotine levels as well as diluting the liquid.

The verdict

While there is some propaganda floating about that claims e-cigs are dangerous there are actually very few downsides to them. Yes, they do contain nicotine but there are ways to use these devices without consuming any nicotine at all. And it's not the nicotine that causes cancer and disease it's the tobacco in cigarettes and all of the chemicals found within that cause major health problems and death. You shouldn't start using these devices if you aren't already a smoker but if you do currently smoke cigarettes they are definitely worth considering as an alternative. You'll have clearer lungs and breathe easier, your blood pressure will normalize, you will decrease your risk of cancer and disease, and you can even taper off of nicotine all together if addiction isn't your thing.